CoC : Path of Debris - In the Eyes of the Basilisk : Review

Path of Debris - _In the Eyes of the Basilisk_
(System Shock, 1998)
by: David Rocher (7.5 out of 10)

Path of Debris' first effort, despite the band's less-than-convincing name and the album's dramatically feeble cover, reveals a potential in this band that is far greater than in the average trivial newcomer death metal act. Path of Debris' epic heavy/death metal is graced with a clear, powerful sound crafted by producer Andy Classen, and this greatly enhances the power the nine tracks of _ItEotB_ deliver. Even though the song structures are on the whole fairly predictable, and the arrangements definitely do not stand out as the most original I've heard to this day, the musical efficiency of these Germans is pretty impressive, even if all songs do not always stand out as being equally interesting. Path of Debris' huge metallic wall of sound is mildly tempered by interspersed keyboard parts (church organs, epic percussive elements and eerie synthetic veils of sound), which are never overused, and therefore never make _ItEotB_ sound cheesy or effeminate a la Dimmu Borgir. These lads definitely know how to write a raging, bombastic death metal track, and my guess is that their next efforts, if they turn out the way they should, should have these guys standing somewhere near the front of the overcrowded death metal scene -- so don't cheese out, people!

(article published 13/2/1999)